1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to surgical instruments for performing laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical procedures, and, more particularly, relates to a surgical portal incorporating a novel retention mechanism for resisting slippage of and retropulsion of the portal during use in a highly pressurized environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical procedures, a small incision or puncture is made in the patient's body to provide access for a surgical portal which is inserted into the patient's body to permit viewing of the surgical site or for the insertion of instruments used in performing the surgical procedure. The surgical portal may be in the form of a trocar cannula assembly incorporating an outer cannula and an obturator which is positioned in the outer cannula. The obturator includes a sharpened point or tip which is used create a path to the surgical site. The obturator is then removed leaving the cannula in place to maintain access to the surgical site. Several incisions may be made to provide numerous access ports to the surgical objective, and once the cannulas are in place, various surgical instruments such as scissors, dissectors, retractors or the like, may be inserted by a surgeon to perform the surgery. Typically, a scope is used to view the area directly, or a miniature camera is used to display the surgical site on a video monitor in the operating room.
In order to maintain the cannula within the incision, it has been known to provide various mechanisms such as threaded cannulas, external sleeves, expandable members, balloons, etc. which engage the tissue surrounding the incision to prevent undesired removal of the cannula. However, such known mechanisms are generally complex in nature. Moreover, these mechanisms often are potentially invasive to the surrounding tissue thereby increasing the likelihood of undesired tissue tear which consequently increases patient trauma and recovery time.